December is a time of year people often let their hair down, routine goes out the window (as does the gym routine, portion control and the ability to say no to that extra glass of wine!) And this is totally fine because it’s the festive season, the year was hard, most of us crawled into 2022 carrying 2yrs worth of unprocessed trauma, grief and a sense of “what the f*ck was that?” So why shouldn’t we take the time to enjoy doing the things we usually restrict ourselves on?!
This is also a time when our goals are put to one side. We tried, we got as close as we could, but it’s the end of the year and January is coming soon, we can start fresh then! If this sounds like you then I’d like to ask you to join me in a little bit of self reflection on what has happened over the past year and how your journey has shaped you these past 12 months. Strap in!
This year has been a little different for me – I’ve set goals, I’ve maintained my focus on them and I feel as motivated now as I did in January. The journey hasn’t been smooth and I have learned more about myself this year than any other year.
I talked about my goals this year in a previous post about how I don’t make traditional New Years resolutions and it’s worth a read if you didn’t catch it the first time – I’m going to revisit those goals and see how I did.
Personal Goals
I’ve looked after my health really well this year. Yes, I did have a couple of injuries from the gym and sport but each time I took my own advice, used rehab exercises to regain my function and then continued to focus on strengthening areas of my body I felt needed it. I even called on my own osteopath and massage therapist for help when I couldn’t do it myself.
I wanted to improve my fitness and the way I approached that has been very different this year. I have taken a huge step back from lacrosse in the UK, a sport that has been my life for 23 years, partially to allow me to focus more time and energy on my rapidly growing clinic and partially because I felt disconnected from the sport for various reasons.
I’m still involved in lacrosse on an international scale, this year I started working with Belgium Men’s National 6s team alongside several fantastic coaches as the medical crew and aiding in skills, technique, strength and conditioning if needed. If Luxembourg pull their national team together and call me up to be part of the medical crew again (hint hint) then I’d be there in a heartbeat, too. Pitchside and competition/athlete care is a lot of fun and I enjoy that side of my work immensely.
In an attempt to encourage my partner to join me on my quest for physical improvement this year, we joined a boxing fitness class and I met some wonderful new people who I feel proud to be able to call my friends. I was crap at the boxing combinations – think Scrappy Doo – but thrived on the conditioning. I’ve missed the class being on a 2 months break and I’m really excited for it to restart in January (Sundays, from 8th, 9:15am at Brooks Gym, Hitchin – for anyone interested!) Hoping I haven’t forgotten what I’m supposed to do by then!
Scarily this has all lead to my entry into the first Hyrox event of 2023 in January in the womens doubles category and I am equal parts motivated and terrified. Wish me luck!
Professional Goals
I’m usually focused on the end result and forget to pay attention to the journey so I made sure to celebrate the small wins this year on the path to each project/outcome I was working towards. I have succeeded in choosing interesting CPD courses this year to broaden my training and find ways to improve my business so that every person that walks through the door feels cared for every step of the way. This has resulted in several soon-to-be-announced changes at Wisbey Osteopathy so please stay tuned to find out what’s happening in the new year!
Maintaining a sense of professional organisation was a big one for me this year, too. I’ve made sure I plan ahead, schedule my social media posts and I’ve automated as much of the tech side of the clinic as I can. This allows me more time to focus on what matters: helping people feel better! This has largely been down to Gilly and the team at Osteobiz Mastermind. I followed Gilly for about 4 yrs, maybe longer before I booked a call with her. I was convinced she was for people who didn’t know how to use social media and I’m part of the generation who grew up as social media evolved so I know my way round the marketing. Her program is so much more than that. The team are able to cover so many facets of owning a business – finance, clinic technology, software use, gathering patient feedback, automated processes, newsletters, accountability PLUS the support of the entire group of members. That last one is very important for osteopaths like me who work by themselves (for now), second guessing yourself and having a whole group to ask in a safe space has been a lifesaver this year.
There are also things I haven’t improved on as much as I would have liked. My sleeping patten hasn’t stayed as consistant, my eating habits fluctuate from being fantastic to being a barrage of Chicken George or Cafe 77 burgers. I didn’t manage to stay totally consistent all year at the gym and I can still be a little tough on myself if I don’t reach the “perfect” standard I was aiming for until I’m gently reminded by my better half that I can’t expect to nail everything first time. As December is my month of reflection I can now practice the art of patting myself on the back for how far I have come this year and drawing a line under what I didn’t improve on as much as I hoped – ready to have another go at it in 2023.
And so I conclude my 12th and final blog of the year with a nice little ‘tick’ on the goal I set for writing 1 blog per month during 2022! I invite you all to write a list of 5 things, big or small, that you achieved this year and to congratulate yourself for doing them.
Merry Christmas from me at Wisbey Osteopathy! Looking forward to seeing patients new and returning next year!
Wisbey Osteopathy 